


a rock and a hard place

by helsinkibaby



Category: NCIS
Genre: 15x22 spoilers, Canonical Character Death, Community: ncis_drabble, F/M, First Kiss, Het, Romance, post ep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-05-05 12:25:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14618505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: At the end of "Two Steps Back" Nick and Ellie are the last ones in the bullpen.





	a rock and a hard place

**Author's Note:**

> For Ncis Drabble prompt "fatal" - further info in the post asked how did the NCIS team respond after the death of one of their own. Well, talk about timing...
> 
> This is not the Reeves and Torres fic I mentioned on tumblr but it could be a sequel to it, even though I haven't actually written it yet but this is the way my brain works!

“C’mon, B.” Nick’s quiet voice makes Ellie look up from the report she’s not reading. “It’ll still be here in the morning.” 

Realising they’re the last ones in the bullpen, Ellie agrees. Jimmy’s gone home to his girls, McGee to Delilah and the twins and Abby is going to London and Ellie can’t imagine this place without her. 

Nick waits for her, steps back to let her into the elevator first. She drops her bag by her side as he presses the button, braces herself against the back wall and closes her eyes, suddenly so tired she can barely stand. 

She opens her eyes in a hurry when the elevator judders to a stop. The lights are dim and Nick is standing with his hand on the control panel, looking at her with an expression on his face that sends her mouth dry. 

It’s almost... hungry?

“I’ve been thinking.” His voice is low, urgent. “About what you were saying about Reeves... how you never told him how you felt. That he was like a brother to you.” She swallows down a lump in her throat, nods. “Is that how you feel about me?” 

Suddenly it doesn’t feel like there’s enough air in the elevator and when he takes a step towards her, there’s even less. She opens her mouth, caught between a rock and a hard place, afraid to tell the truth, not wanting to lie. He saves her by taking another step, so that he’s standing right in front of her. 

“Because I don’t think of you as a sister.” 

There’s no swallowing the lump in her throat now but she can force a whisper of his name past it. That’s apparently all he needs to hear because he’s reaching out, taking her face in his hands, bringing his lips to hers. 

He kisses her like he does everything else: full bodied and passionate, putting his whole heart into it. It’s not the first time he’s kissed her - Charlie and Luis had been pretty amorous - but it’s the first time they’ve kissed as Nick and Ellie and it’s all the better for that, she decides. One of his hands threads through her hair, the other slides up and down her back and all she can do is wind her arms around his neck and hang on for dear life. 

Pulling away, he’s breathing hard as he rests his forehead against hers. “If I told you,” he whispers, “how many times I’ve wanted to do that...” 

Ellie stops him with another kiss. “Take me home, Nick,” she demands. She doesn’t want to think about wasted time, not now, not tonight. 

“Yes, ma’am.” He grins as he punches the button, kisses her again until the elevator stops, follows her home and makes her forget how horrible this week has been. 

“No regrets?” he asks her later, when their fingers are laced together and her head is pillowed on his chest. 

Her answer comes quickly. “Not one.”


End file.
